Support Services
With our team of Support Service educators, we offer programs to meet the needs of both high ability scholars as well as scholars who require additional support to achieve success in the classroom.
Donatus
Donatus is a Latin word meaning “given” or “gifted,” and our Donatus program is designed for children in Kindergarten through 5th grade who are capable of high performance.
The Donatus Program is designed to enhance skills for high ability learners in Kindergarten through grade 5. A “high ability” learner is a scholar who performs at or shows the potential of performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one domain compared to other scholars at the same age, experience, or environment.
A scholar may be identified as having high ability in either language arts, mathematics, or both. Instruction will be tailored to enhance and extend the curriculum of the regular classroom.
To be admitted to the Donatus Program, scholars are identified by a team of administrators and teachers using data from achievement, intellectual, and benchmark testing and a classroom checklist.
Domains
Language Arts
This domain is focused on logic and progym-based literature enrichment. A social-emotional component will also be addressed in this domain.
Mathematics
This domain is focused on the art of problem-solving, operational systems, set theory, number theory, abstract algebra, probability and statistics, and problems involving complex and advanced mathematical topics. A social-emotional component will also be addressed in this domain.
Tier Program
Our Support Services educators provide services to our OSL scholars outside the realm of the traditional classroom. These services are designed to either enhance or remediate a scholar's academic progress and to work together with the benchmarking process as a response to intervention.
Our Tier program offers three different levels of intervention.
Tier I
Intervention is provided for all students as part of the regular educational curriculum by the classroom teacher. OSL scholars with reading and math skills determined to be below the benchmark are identified and progress monitored. Instructional strategies are research-based. Support Services faculty will conduct teacher training and advise teachers of appropriate accommodations and modifications to the curriculum.
Tier II
Intervention is provided in a small group setting or 1:1 basis using research-based reading and math strategies for those students whose skills are identified to be below the benchmark and not making adequate progress with Tier I intervention in the regular classroom. Services last approximately 90 minutes per week and include the following:
- Reading readiness (Kindergarten)
- Reading intervention (Grades 1-3)
- Study Skills (Grades 4-8)
Tier III
Intervention is provided in a small group setting or 1:1 basis by an educational specialist using research-based instructional strategies for those scholars whose skills are not at grade level and require intensive intervention. Scholars receiving Tier III intervention are formally diagnosed with learning differences, developmental delays/disorders, or physical limitations. Time varies based on the type of service, which include the following:
- Executive functioning skills
- Alternative curriculum
- Dyslexia therapy
Educational testing is also available:
- Dyslexia screening
- Woodcock Johnson
- WIST IV
- CTOPP-2
Response to Intervention
Response to Intervention (RTI) exists to early identify struggling students, provide research-based instruction and measure their response to the instruction through an assessment process. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a special education law that ensures rights to children with learning disabilities. RTI was passed by IDEA in 2004.
